The Sanctuary Model

The Sanctuary Model (Sanctuary) focuses on safety and creating an understanding of how past adversity can continue to have an impact throughout life. It recognises that trauma has an impact not only on the people who have experienced it, but also on the staff who work with them and on organisations as a whole.

Sanctuary enables an organisation to create a safe, non-violent environment and relationships that teach people to cope more effectively with stress and trauma.

Sanctuary is committed to:

Non-violence: We use unconditional care to stay safe and allow others to feel safe

Emotional Intelligence: We manage our feelings, so we don’t hurt ourselves or others

Social Learning: We are curious and learn from each other and from our difficulties

Democracy: All voices and views are heard and respected

Open Communication: We are honest and say what we mean with kindness

Social Responsibility: We help each other and take responsibility for our actions

Growth and Change: We acknowledge loss, are open to new ideas and are hopeful for the future.

Sanctuary encourages us to rethink the way we manage conflict resolution and crisis intervention. It supports staff and carers to form healthy communities and create a culture that prioritises safety and wellbeing at every level within the workplace.

Origins of the Sanctuary Model

Sanctuary is an evidence-informed approach that was developed in the early 1980s by American psychiatrist, Dr Sandra Bloom and her colleagues. Their model, developed in an acute care psychiatric unit where most of the patients were survivors of traumatic childhood experiences has since been adapted to residential care, youth detention, schools and a range of other community services.

For more information about implementing Sanctuary in your organisation, contact:

Sanctuary Institute Australia

Frequently asked questions

What outcomes can we expect from implementing the Sanctuary Model?

The impact of adopting the Sanctuary Model to your organisation should be observable and measurable. How does Sanctuary Work? illustrates a step-by-step process that highlights how the model results in improved outcomes for organisations and clients. The power of the Sanctuary Model is in the process.

Research demonstrates that survivors of trauma can be resilient if they are connected to positive, caring service providers (Harney, 2007; Larkin, Beckos, & Shields, 2012). Sanctuary creates an environment in which staff can sustain work with traumatised individuals and build meaningful connections. In separate American studies (Rivard et al., 2005; Stein, Sorbero, Kogan, & Greenberg, 2011), research shows that Sanctuary offers a promising approach for creating a healthy environment that promotes emotional health and wellbeing for staff and service users.